Ponte Vedra edges Nease 3-2 for District 4-5A baseball title

Although Ponte Vedra is the team that carried away the district championship trophy, Wednesday’s District 4-5A baseball final at Nease pushed both the Sharks and Panthers into the state playoffs with some momentum.

Ponte Vedra (16-11) took advantage of Nease errors in the first two innings to score three times and held on for a 3-2 victory. The Sharks will play host to the District 3-4A loser (Bishop Kenny vs. Baker County) on May 2.

Nease (21-5) rallied for two runs in the top of the fifth against Ponte Vedra starter Byron Yelverton. But reliever Jackson Johnson stranded Nease runners at every base to end the threat and send the Panthers on the road for the regional quarterfinals next week.

“That’s the way we play these guys,” Nease coach Brian Thomas said of Ponte Vedra. “That’s the way you want a championship game to be played.”

Added Yelverton: “They’re a good ballclub. I think both teams look forward to playing each other.”

Nease might have been a little too excited early. Even with the proven Brooks Calvo on the mound, the Panthers were shaky at the start.

Ponte Vedra leadoff man Max Miller reached on an error and moved up when No. 2 hitter Brett Poling was hit by a pitch. After a strikeout, Alex Willich and Jordan McKenna hit RBI singles to make it 2-0.

The Panthers avoided further trouble by picking off Willich at third base to end the frame.

In the second inning, a two-out walk to Ben Ohno was followed by another error on Miller’s grounder. Poling’s infield single extended the lead to 3-0.

“It’s something you have to take advantage of,” Ponte Vedra coach Tom Stanton said. “Our philosophy is if we throw strikes and catch the ball, a 2-0 lead feels like a 4-0 lead.”

It nearly turned into a blowout in the third when Ponte Vedra knocked Calvo out of the game on a two-out walk and a single.

Reliever Daniel Williams came in and walked Eric Smith to load the bases before getting Ohno to ground out.

At that point, it didn’t appear as if a missed scoring opportunity would matter. Yelverton was in complete command. Through four innings, he allowed just three two-out singles and no walks.

But in the fifth, it was Nease’s turn to cash in on some miscues.

Jared Bassett reached on an error to lead off, scampering all the way to second.

A solid single by Blair Calvo put runners on the corners.

Drew Linder pushed a bunt to the right side to easily score Bassett and move up Calvo.

After a flyout, Williams battled Yelverton in a 10-pitch at-bat before ripping a single. Sean Bryan was then hit by a pitch, and Yelverton was relieved by Johnson.

A lefty like Yelverton, Johnson skipped a pitch off the plate, which bounced away and allowed a second run to score.

Dan Brookman finished his at-bat for a walk to load the bases again, but Johnson got Sean O’Farrell to bounce back to the mound. He threw home for the fielder’s choice that ended the inning.

While both teams got a few runners on base the rest of the way, the relievers never did let another run come home. Johnson went 1 1/3 innings with no hits, two walks and a strikeout. Walker Sheller closed the game for Ponte Vedra. He allowed a walk, hit a batter and struck out two. Nease’s two runs were charged to Yelverton, who struck out two and hit a batter while allowing four hits and no walks for the win.

“We’ve both got really good pitching staffs,” Yelverton said. “I definitely have confidence in both of them (Johnson and Sheller).”

For Nease, Williams worked 3 1/3 innings of shutout baseball with five strikeouts, a walk, a hit batsman and just one hit. Calvo pitched 2 2/3 innings with four hits, two walks and four strikeouts.

Because of that quality pitching, there wasn’t much offense in the game. Neither team had an extra-base hit. McKenna (2 for 3) was the only player with more than one hit.